Random Creepy Creatures Who Live In Mariana Trench (17 items)

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  (#17) Football Fish

  Football fish are yet another member of the deep sea's angler family. Each female football fish has a lantern on her head, which she uses to attract prey. It glows in the murky depths of the ocean thanks to a special bacteria, and the fish gently sway their light back and forth. When a meal gets close enough, the football fish shoot a luminescent liquid at it, grabs their prey while it is blinded and swallows it whole with their very large mouth.

  The females can grow up to two feet long — males are slightly smaller — and participate in an unusual mating process. Because it's hard to see in the deep ocean, males bite onto the females until their skin grows together. The female nourishes the male who then fertilizes her eggs. 
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  (#5) Grimpoteuthis

  • Grimpoteuthis

  Dumbo octopuses look like characters straight out of a Disney movie. In fact, they got their name from the Disney elephant with similar long, floppy ears. On the octopus, these floppy "ears" are actually fins, but, like Dumbo's, they are used to fly — in this case, through the water.

  The Dumbo octopus has a semi-translucent body and a squat shape, growing up to 12 inches long. Of all octopus species, they are the deepest living, some inhabit the depths as low as 23,000 feet.
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  (#9) Deep Sea Dragonfish

  Dragonfish are one of many of the deep sea's "super black fish." They have extremely large teeth as well as photophores along their sides that glow, attracting both prey and mates. This peculiar fish has a long protrusion on its chin, also equipped with a photophore, which it uses like a fishing pole to lure in its victims. Although they look terrifying, they are actually only about six inches long.
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  (#7) Ctenophora

  Comb jellies are the ravers of the sea. Their transparent bodies are adorned with tiny bioluminescent combs that refract light as they move, giving them the appearance of shimmering rainbows. They have no bones or shells and are made up of more than 95% water. Comb jellies have two tentacles that they use to pull food into their mouths. These jellies are also cannibals, even eating comb jellies bigger than themselves.
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  (#15) Frilled Shark

  Frilled sharks have long, slender bodies that make them resemble an eel with fins. They are also called "living fossils" as they belong to a species that changed very little and survived over millions of years. A frilled shark's mouth contains 25 rows of teeth, but unlike other sharks, scientists believe they hunt more like snakes.

  Scientists have also observed these sharks possibly carrying their offspring in their wombs for up to three-and-a-half years.
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  (#1) Goblin shark

  • Mitsukurina owstoni

  You can always identify a goblin shark by its protruding, flattened snout. They also have between 31 to 62 rows of lower teeth and 35 to 53 rows of upper teeth sticking out of their scary-looking jaws. Specialized joints allow these jaws to move forward. 

  Goblin sharks are slow moving and track their prey using smell, sight, and electro-perception to wait until their victim is unaware. There have only been a few sightings of these sharks, so they are believed to be extremely rare.

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